Best Paella Recipe

If you come on a mindfulness meditation retreat at Les Sources Sacrées, we will feed your mind as well as your body. Les Sources Sacrées is a secluded but not isolated retreat house deep in the heart of Gascony, in the sun-drenched south of France – land of « milk and honey », or rather land of paella Gascon, duck confit, cassoulet, croustade and Madiran, Pacherenc, Saint Mont and Cotes de Gascogne wines. Going on a starvation diet while you are here would be soul-destroying.

In Gascony, people live long and healthy lives despite eating rich food and drinking copious amounts of wine – it is called the Gascon Paradox. On an equine-guided meditation retreat at Les Sources Sacrées, you will be introduced to this laid-back way of life : You will discover some of the most famous dishes and wine of this region, visit a local fresh food market and go on a tutored wine tasting.

One would think that people would quickly become obese on such a rich diet, but obesity here is very rare.

Les Sources Sacrées is located just 90 minutes north of the Spanish border. Many people here speak Spanish and people dance the tango, eat paella and attend a bullfight during their village fetes. Paella Gascon has, over the years, become the signature dish of our retreats, the dish is served at the welcoming dinner on the first night here. It is decadently delicious and so easy to adapt for vegetarians who do or do not eat fish.

Guests always ask for my best paella recipe, which I am always happy to share. Despite the long list of ingredients, it is easy to make and even freezes well.

Paella Gascon

Ingredients

2 tbsp virgin olive oil, cold pressed

6 chicken (or small duck) drumsticks

250g chorizo sausage, sliced, not too thinly

1 large onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, peeled and grated

2 cups rinsed short-grain rice (soak it in water first for 10-15 minutes, then drain)

1 cup tomatoes, chopped in small cubes

1 cup red peppers, sliced

1 cup peas (frozen is fine)

750 ml chicken stock

250 ml of white wine (we use Pacherenc)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

1 tsp turmeric

Half tsp of saffron

500g prawns/large shrimp

250 g calamari

500g mussels, scrubbed and soaked

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup of fresh, chopped parsley and sliced olives for garnish

1 lemon cut into lemon wedges

Instructions

In a large paella pan/12 inch+ skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Coat the drumsticks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add drumsticks to pan, then cook for about 5-10 minutes until the chicken is crisp. Add chorizo sausage, to flavour the oil.

When chicken is fully cooked, push it to one side of the pan, then add the onion and sautée it for 2-3 minutes until the onion becomes translucent. Add the garlic, stir well and cook for another minute.

Now add the rice, tomatoes and red peppers to the pan. Let the rice cook in the sauce from the tomatoes for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, paprika, cayenne pepper, tumeric and saffron. Stir everything together (including drumsticks and chorizo) and cover with a large enough lid. Cook for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.

Turn down the heat. Arrange the shrimp and mussels over the rice, cover with a lid again and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the mussels open up. Add the calamari for the last 3-4 minutes.

Turn off the heat and garnish with parsley and olives.

Gascon paella is often served with lemon wedges and a spicy red pepper rouille in this part of France:

Ingredients of the rouille:

1/2 cup hot red peppers

3 tsp dry breadcrumbs

Zest and juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp tomato purée

2 egg yolks

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

Half a tsp of saffron

4 tbsp of olive oil

Salt to taste

Instructions to make the rouille:

Mix all ingredients together (in a blender if preferred). Add cold pressed virgin olive oil last and blend until smooth. Serve in a small bowl with a hot, crusty baguette on the side. Some people stir ½ a tsp of rouille into their paella, others eat it spread on bread.

We usually combine our paella with a deep-red, robust, rock-your-socks-off Madiran, but you can also serve it with a dry white, like a Pacherenc sec.

I would love that. I was thinking when you were in Italy, that you are actually not that far from me. I thought I should suggest you come over for a couple of nights and then I thought you probably already have every moment planned. If you come next year though and you don’t stop off here, even if it is just for a night or two, I’ll be most offended. I’d love to show you my world.

The Paella sounds delish! I never worry about gaining weight eating great food! I believe in eating real food, (organic is best) cooked with care, at the dining table with people we enjoy the company of feeds the soul. Enjoy!

What a great recipe Margaretha. I had the pleasure of honeymooning on the Canary Islands many years ago and remember ordering Paella. They bought us the biggest plate of food I have ever seen. And how could we not eat it, it was so delicious! I would like to invite you to a link party that I am hosting called Sweet Inspiration. You can link up anything at all and it runs from Friday till Tuesday.

That looks lovely! I really like the idea of health and relaxation retreats that are not also based on the idea of diets and detox. I don’t really go for that sort of thing, and find lovely, indulgent food much more relaxing! I tend to think of this as a thing throughout France actually – eating richer food, and meals being a big thing (all the things that we here tend to view as being bad and diet breaking) without anywhere near our problems with obesity. That to me reinforces that it is a lifestyle and attitude thing that causes problems with obesity, not eating certain types of food – you can eat any foods if you are doing it sensibly and in the right way.

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The content of this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This website does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician with any questions you may have about a medical condition.

Margaretha Montagu is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. She is also an affiliate for other links which you may click on throughout this site, such as links to Kobo and iBooks.